Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Hanks into archived footage and to develop other scenes. Principal photography took place between August and December 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The film differs substantially from the novel. The film follows several decades in the life of a slow-witted and kindhearted Alabama man named Forrest Gump (Hanks) and his experiences in the 20th-century United States. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth.
